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I’m so damn lucky to have my family on my side.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I remember something she said earlier. “But why did Greg Masters contact you?”

She snorts. “He has a photo of you guys standing too close together making pasta. I have him handled. Don’t worry.”

Then her voice turns solemn. “Maxwell and I will process this new…development and monitor if anything was leaked to the press. But Rex, figure out what you’re doing with Olivia. We don’t want to see you guys get hurt.”

I close my eyes, a heaviness sitting atop my chest.

The last thing I want to do is hurt Olivia.

But I don’t…I can’t stay away.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

“I got this. I’ma freakin’ adult with self-control,” I mutter under my breath as I pace inside my office, practically wearing down the carpet.

I’ve never felt this out of sorts in my entire career. Heck, I treat people with impulse control issues. If this were a colleague coming to me for advice, the answer would be straightforward and simple.

Recuse yourself. Stay away.Far away.

I’ve already obliterated the oath I made to the medical profession by sleeping with Rex—something I still think about nightly as I lie in bed while missing his caresses and kisses.

And now the press is on to us.

Lana told me this morning that Greg Masters approached her with a photo he took of Rex and me during our Tuscan cooking lesson the day before yesterday. He wanted a payout. She got him to back off by promising an exclusive after the cruise plus a fifty thousand dollar bonus.

She told him Rex was a flirt and had amazing chemistry with all women. That was why the photos looked intimate. And because Lana could be ruthless when she wanted to, she told him if he didn’t back off, she’d release photos of Rex being friendly with other women to make his picture worthless.

I asked if she had any photos of Rex with other women. She shrugged and told me it could be arranged.

But Lana wasn’t dumb. She was suspicious, like she knew something.

She peppered me with more questions, but I pretended to be late to a patient appointment and ran away before she could poke through my lies.

Something happened in the test kitchen. There was a different energy from Rex. A fierce spark, not the resignation I saw in his eyes the morning after we had sex.

It was hard to resist him.

How can something so wrong feels so right?

How do I feel so alive with someone obviously not for me?

“I’m going to quit. Official paperwork, not just the damn email. We’re almost to Monaco anyway. I’ve done a few sessions and have tried my best.” I pace faster and blow out a breath. “Yes, that’s it. I’ll refer him to someone else—”

A low laugh reaches my ears and I stop, whipping my head toward the office door.

The man himself is leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest, his fingers toying with his marble. He’s in a crisp white shirt and gray slacks, carrying the same lazy air I saw when he straggled in for our first appointment.

But this time, there’s amusement, warmth, and heat in those gray eyes—eyes I know glint gold next to a burning fire and smolder in passion.

“What’s troubling you, little Olive?” He unfurls himself and walks toward me, closing the door behind him. “Thinking about me? About how good we are together?”

My pulse scatters. I hold my hand up to stop him. “We talked about this. I’m serious. I can’t be your doctor anymore, Rex.”

“Good. I don’t want you to be.” A shadow crosses his face, but it disappears almost instantly.

“I can’t be your fuck toy, either.”